Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1887-03-03
REVOLUTIONARY RELIC,
A Building in Which the First Senate Of Ney
York State Met.

A Building in Which the First Senate Of New
York State Met.
Early in the present week Senator Con.
nelly will introduce bill for the purchase
OF the old senate house in this place
writes a Kingston. \. Y, correspondent
Of The Nslo York Times. The object is to
have the state own and control the build.
ing as a kind of museum of relics of the
Revolutionary war. The building was
erected in 1876 by Col Vessel Ten Brock.
1t is situated on Upper Clinton avenue.
The front 9all; are of stone. two feet
thick, and the back is constructed of brick
imported from Holland. The oaken
beams of the interior appear TO be good
Tor many years to come. Portions OF the
wood work were destroyed by fire wnen
the British were in the town in l1l.
These, however, were 80 carefully repiac
ed (by Gen. Armstrong, afterward secre
tary OF war under President Washington
that the loss of the original Is scarcely
noticed. Three years ago the house was
advertised for sale by Frederick Z. West
brook, but no buyers appeared. In April
1885, the house was finally sold at mort
gage sale the purchaser being Mitchell
senate OF the state of New York met in
this building in 1871, and remained IN
session several months until the arrival OF
the British army. Upon the walls Of the
house p tablet attests the fact that the
senate once celed this queer old building
its home. To-day II carries these IN
scriptions.
SENATE HOUSE or STATE or n. z, liff
Col. Vessel Ten Brock, born at West
phalia, 1885, erected this stone house
about 1876, wherein the senate Of me
State of New York, was held IN
the year of the adoption of its first Con
stitution, 1777 Continued here until the
burning of Kingston, October 10th, la"
Here TO use the words of Gen. George
H. Sharp, the historian of Kingston, 'the
FIRST chief justice Of the state, John Ja!
charged the grand jury soon after the
Revolution. Here presided Judge BroeA-
1 hoist Livingston, Judge Kent, jugs
\ Spencer, Judge Van Ness. Judge SmI'h
/ Thompson, afterward chief justice of the
state, secretary OF the treasury, and ludgs
of the supreme court of the United
! States. He was Kent's successor ana
/ Nelson's predecessor. Here, also. were
heard those mingled tones of Dutch ana
/ English, the utterarces of Judge Yates
afterward governor OF the state, of whom
it was once aPolegetically said by o!,
stsnder that it was easy to uRderstanS
bin when he spoke in the vernacular.
The president of British troops IN New
York, the nominal capital of the state,
gave a migratory character to the seat o.
government till after the evacuation
The first legislature met at Kingston
but adjournment was had to an old stou'
building in Poughkeepsie, now q MAI
house which is soon 20 give way 70 soile
thing more modern. The second leg"
lature met in Poughkeepsie the thiie
returned to kingston, the fourth ans
sixth again met IN Poughgeepsle' tA'
seventh to tenth, inclusive met IN the Z.
halE New York, the eleventh met Z
Poaghkeepsie, and it was not tai e.,
twelfth ass that Albany was favored =
the least. For ten years longer the ies
islature came together as the two ho17s
might agree or the government Hnlsl
designate, and then ass Albany va
made the permenant capital.